Whether children are a part of your future plans or not, your health matters. Start learning more now, and take control of your health.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Hendrickson-Jack is a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner. She teaches women to chart their menstrual cycles for natural birth control, conception, and overall health monitoring. In her work, Lisa draws heavily from the current scientific literature and presents an evidence-based approach to fertility awareness and menstrual cycle optimization.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"I am so thankful to Lisa for writing The Fifth Vital Sign -- a book that contributes immeasurably to the field of fertility awareness. Using impeccable research standards, she has made her book easily accessible while being scientifically sound -- a goldmine of practical advice for women wanting answers to the myriad of questions that usually arise around fertility and the menstrual cycle." -- Toni Weschler, MPH, author of Taking Charge of Your Fertility and Cycle Savvy"With The Fifth Vital Sign, Lisa dives deep into the menstrual cycle and fertility and provides valuable new insights gleaned from more than 150 interviews with women's health experts! It's a reference that I will undoubtedly refer to again and again."-- Lara Briden, ND, author of Period Repair Manual"The Fifth Vital Sign is an essential book for every woman's library. Lisa blends science, tradition, and intuition in her writing -- the result is a beautiful and practical guide to all things fertility!"-- Dr. Fiona McCulloch, ND, author of 8 Steps to Reverse Your PCOS"The Fifth Vital Sign educates and empowers women to take control of their cycles and reach beyond to take charge of their total health. I could not recommend it more highly."-- Amy Medling, founder of PCOS Diva and author ofHealing PCOS"At last, a book celebrating the menstrual cycle as the vital sign it is, an indicator of our overall health. Packed with useful information written in a warm, engaging style, The Fifth Vital Sign shows you how to take charge of your hormonal health and contraceptive needs in a way that nourishes and empowers. A must-have for all women in their menstruating years."-- Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer, co-authors of Wild Powerand co-directors of Red School

About the Author

Lisa Hendrickson-Jack talks about vaginas a lot! She's a certified Fertility Awareness Educator and Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner who teaches women to chart their menstrual cycles for natural birth control, conception, and monitoring overall health. In her new book The Fifth Vital Sign, Lisa debunks the myth that regular ovulation is only important when you want children, by recognizing the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Drawing heavily from the current scientific literature, Lisa presents an evidence-based approach to fertility awareness and menstrual cycle optimization. She hosts the Fertility Friday Podcast, a weekly radio show devoted to helping women connect to their fifth vital sign by uncovering the connection between menstrual cycle health, fertility, and overall health. With well over a million downloads, Fertility Friday isthe #1 source for information about fertility awareness, and menstrual cycle health, connecting women around the world with their cycles and their fertility -- something our education systems have consistently failed to do. When she's not researching, writing, and interviewing health professionals, you'll find her spending time with her husband and her two sons. To learn more, visit fertilityfriday.com and thefifthvitalsignbook.com.

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There are two reasons why I docked stars for this book and I write this as a fan and regular listener of her wonderful podcast.

The first big problem I had with this book was the section on Hormonal Birth Control causing women to choose the wrong partner.

There are several issues with this. Saying the word "cause" is misleading, she is implying that HBC directly causes women to choose the wrong partner. However, if you look at the research, they specifically state the study is too small to warrant a cause and effect conclusion. It goes on to state more research must be done before broad conclusions, like that presented in the section, are made.

The section is also small and doesn't have a conclusion or any advice on what to do if you met your partner while on HBC which makes it feel incomplete.

I felt it was careless to present something as serious as HBC destroying a marriage without some sort of resolution. It made me feel scared to go off of HBC, which is already scary in itself because the FAM is going against current medical advice. I applaud the effort the FAM is making, but it's still a scary transition.

When information like that is presented without a conclusion, who is your book for? Women who have never been on HBC and want further validation of their choices or married women like me, who want to go off of HBC but want to do it responsibly?

Bottomline, I did not appreciate that section and it really turned me off to the whole book.

The other issue I had was that this book is not everything you need to start charting successfully.

She says outright that you should find a certified instructor to start charting "because of all the nuances." I bought this book assuming it would be enough for me to chart successfully. Instead, I could have bought a course that has the same information AND is comprehensive enough to start charting with confidence. Most courses include one-on-one time with the instructor and FB communities to ask questions. The author herself has several courses on this as well, which I'm sure covers everything in the book too.

So, if you are the kind of person who wants to read everything there is about FAM as well as A LOT of info on why HBC is terrible, then this would be great for you. But if you’re like me and would prefer one comprehensive source to start charting successfully, look for a course-instructor combo.

This is the ultimate guide to understanding your menstrual cycles and charting (aka fertility awareness method). Lisa has combined over 20 years of experience as a fertility awareness educator + well over 1,000 scientific references to explain the importance of having regular, ovulatory menstrual cycles when it comes to maintaining fertility and having optimal health (whether or not you choose to have kids). This is the information you WISH you were taught when you were 12. Our cycles have so much more to teach us than we've been told. They truly are a window into your health.

The section on the effect of hormonal birth control on our health is, by far, THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE I've seen anywhere. It's absolutely shocking how many health problems arise from being on the Pill and this book has made that clearer than any other women's health book to date (with soooo many research citations backing everything she says).

If you've dabbled in charting your cycles, know that this book is even more in-depth than the classic, Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It's truly a comprehensive resource that all women and healthcare providers who work with women should have on their bookshelf.

After going off birth control about 8 years ago my periods only came every 6-12 months. I was diagnosed with PCOS even though I'm a normal weight. Doctors told me "you don't need a period, when you want to get pregnant we'll just start you on fertility drugs". But I knew that couldn't be true! It seems common sense that if you aren't ovulating and bleeding every month, something is wrong. I ended up getting pregnant twice in 3 years even though I rarely ovulated, but I miscarried both times. I only recently discovered Lisa’s podcast, and after making changes I started ovulating (and bleeding) every 3 months. I was so excited and knew my body was moving in the right direction, and was hopeful that I might start ovulating every month. But since it had already been 3 years of trying to conceive, I used Femara to speed up the process and got pregnant on the first round. I’m now 32 weeks along and baby is doing great! :) I was so excited when I heard Lisa was writing a book, and knew I wanted to get it as soon as it was released. This book is very comprehensive. It’s main point is that the menstrual cycle is a sign of health, and we need to be ovulating monthly for overall health. Ovulating is NOT just about having babies. It’s so much more than that! This book is for every woman, even if you don’t plan on ever having kids. It talks about the parameters of a healthy cycle, how and why to chart your cycle, everything you need to know about cervical mucus, and so much more. Girls today are being told that they don’t need a period, and that going on birth control is harmless. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I think every girl should be given this book as a present when she starts her period :) I wish someone had taught me all this when I was 14!

Top international reviews

This book is so important in understanding women's health! Not only should all women read this, but all doctors should as well. This should be a right of passage gift that every mother gives to their daughter when they hit puberty. If every woman knew how her body worked, what to watch out for in her cycle that can either help her avoid pregnancy, help her get pregnant and/or give her early signs of changes in her health women would have much more control of their bodies and perhaps even their situations. It's truly amazing how many things your cycle can tell you and how many things we aren't taught. What we think is normal (like painful cramps with periods) has been blown out of the water. And, because I've educated myself through this book and through Lisa's podcasts I have been better able to talk with my doctor about what is happening with me (hypothyroidism) and see results from treatments immediately in my chart. Not only does Lisa present the information in an easy to digest way, but her passion for the subject, dedication to finding the scientific proof to back things up and her continued quest to help every woman take control of her own body shines through on every page. A must read!

I wish all schools had several copies of this book! Everyone needs to learn more about healthy ovulation cycles so that people can stay away from hormonal birth control and so they can take better care of their overall health. Whether you are trying to conceive or not, learning about your cycle will give you many valuable health indicators.

This has book has been recommended to me by a friend of mine, who has shared with me the first insights into the Fertility Awareness / FA. After reviewing all the positive reviews on Amazon, I thought that its definitely worth of trying ;) To be honest, I didn't expect much - not because of the book itself, but somehow I thought that I already had quite some knowledge about the topics being covered in this book.And you know what happened? After reading this book in just a few days, I realised that I didn't know much…,) I've opened for myself a complete new universe regarding the FA! I am so thankful that this book has crossed my way because it will definitely change many things in my life. I am happy and at the same time, really angry as I didn't have a clue about many things till the age of 31. How could it happen that an adult independent and intelligent woman was lacking such essential information about her own body? Well, because nobody talks about it I guess - neither your friends, nor your own doctor.To make the long story short - this book is more than a must for every single women! For every woman, who appreciates her own body, who values the endless (and secret) power it has. This book is extremely inspirational and will trigger lots of thoughts in your head! Read it, enjoy it and start changing your life now!

5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the most important women's health and fertility books this year - if not ever

Reviewed in Australia on January 19, 2019

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If you want to understand and optimise your fertility, this book has just about everything you need to get started. It's extremely comprehensive, well-researched, easy-to-read and provides practical advice without dumbing down the science. Lisa knows her stuff!

Before this book was published, Lisa worked with me as a fertility awareness educator to make sense of my cycles after coming off the pill for the first time in a decade, and to prepare my body for pregnancy. I now have a beautiful and healthy baby girl and I'm 100% confident that Lisa's knowledge played an important role in the whole journey - from pre-pregnancy to now. The Fifth Vital Sign is like having Lisa (and all of her expertise!) right there on your Kindle.

I am a 30 year old woman, have 2 young daughters and I am SO GRATEFUL for this book. It will be used and referenced throughout my families lifetime! I have a few other books that cover similar topics of the period/women's health/etc, this one is the best I have found so far. It is thorough, with scientific references & research to back up what is written. I believe it is an amazing "textbook" for the menstrual cycle, yet it reads well and is not boring at all. I wish I had this book 15 years ago, I truly do. Thank you Lisa for all the effort you put into this book, our family will be putting this knowledge to use for many years to come.

This is the most fascinating book I've read on the women's menstrural cycle. It encourages us to understand our bodies and take responsibility for our health. Instead of just asking a doctor to fix our health problems and putting all the knowledge in their hands. Men and women should know all the information in this book and celebrate what an incredible finely tuned evolutionary masterpiece menstruation is!! Absolutely loved this book thank you!!

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